RationalWiki:Bookshelf

From RationalWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Great and terrible
Books
Icon books.svg
On our shelf:
Writer's block
v - t - e
I thought this
was supposed to be
RationalWiki
Wigorw.svg
About
Help
RationalMedia Foundation (RMF)
Moderation
Future.gif
v - t - e

There are many classic books on skepticism and rational thinking. This page lists our favorites.

Please when adding to this list, dig out the ISBN (International Standard Book Number)Wikipedia for an in-print edition (if possible) of the publication and list it. If anyone is looking for some seriously fun whitewash work, the ones listed without ISBNs need them. Books too old to have an ISBN might be traceable with an alternative standard, like a WorldCatWikipedia (OCLC) number.

General skepticism[edit]

Skeptical books by Christians[edit]

Sadly, Christianity is a fertile ground for crank ideas and nonsense which some people are prone to believe just because a Christian evangelist or author said it. Some of the best books debunking this crankery were written by Christians and are worth a read, especially by Christians who might not pay attention to the same debunking coming from secularists. Keep in mind some of these books still push a more "mainstream" evangelical Christian theology even as they debunk the fringes.

  • Selling Satan: The Evangelical Media and the Mike Warnke Scandal by Mike Hertenstein and Jon Trott (ISBN 0940895072). An expansion of the article the authors wrote for Cornerstone magazine that blew the cover on Mike Warnke's phony Satanism stories.
  • Reckless Rumors, Misinformation, Doomsday Delusions by Ralph Woodrow (ISBN 0-916938-18-2). A tour de force debunking all sorts of nonsense: rapture and end times rumors, Noah's Ark sightings, Satanic panic, the Bible Code, and many more. Drawback: endorses creationism, although apparently not YEC.
  • The Babylonian Connection? by Ralph Woodrow (ISBN 0916938174). Woodrow was once a believer in conspiracy theories about the Vatican and an old book of his, Babylonian Mystery Religion: Ancient and Modern is still widely cited by anti-Catholic fundamentalists like Jack Chick. Here he sets out to refute what he once taught.
  • The Incredible Cover-Up: Exposing the Origins of Rapture Theories by Dave MacPherson (ISBN 0931608066). The author researches where the dispensationalist and pre-tribulation rapture doctrines came from, and locates their origin in a small 19th century sect. Drawback: the author has his own theological axe to grind and believes in a post-tribulation rapture.
  • The Todd Phenomenon, by Darryl E. Hicks. A look at the tall tales of John Todd. Sadly long out of print and rare. Drawback: marred by an introduction by (oh, the irony) Mike Warnke. (ISBN 0892210613). (OCLC: 6692150).
  • Christianity in Crisis (ISBN 9781418576073) and Counterfeit Revival by Hank Hanegraaff (ISBN 9781418514808). These are pretty good debunkings of "word of faith", "name it and claim it" evangelists and some of the extreme loony-bin stuff within Pentecostalism. Drawback: Hanegraaff has his own rigid version of orthodoxy to push here and tends to debunk based on strictly theological grounds rather than skepticism and reason.
  • Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism by John Shelby Spong (ISBN 0060675187). Written by an Episcopalian bishop, this is a now-classic rethinking of the Bible and those who would take specific passages on human sexuality and other topics literally and out of context.
  • I Was Wrong by Jim Bakker (ISBN 0785271368). Strictly a limited hangout, but good light reading for those who follow juicy gossip from the netherworld of televangelism.

Critical thinking, argument, rhetoric[edit]

Astronomy[edit]

Atheism and religion[edit]

See the main article on this topic: Atheism FAQ

Biology, evolution, and creationism[edit]

Conspiracy theories[edit]

  • Aaronovitch, David, Voodoo Histories: The Role of Conspiracy Theories in Shaping Modern History. An overview of the greatest conspiratorial hits of the 20th and 21st centuries. The JFK assassination, Pearl Harbor, 9/11 truth, birtherism, Princess Di, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and much much more! (ISBN 9781101185216).
  • Barkun, Michael, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. On the overlap between the conspiracy theory, UFO, and Christian fundamentalist subcultures in the latter half of the 20th century. (ISBN 9780520248120).
  • Fenster, Mark, Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy and Power in American Culture. An analysis and critique of both popular American conspiracy theories and Hofstadter's "consensus historian" approach to the subject. (ISBN 9780816632428).
  • Hofstadter, Richard, The Paranoid Style in American Politics. Traces popular conspiracy theories among the wingnut set from the nation's earliest days (Freemasonry, Illuminati, and anti-Catholicism) to when it was written in the 1950s (McCarthyism, the John Birch Society). (ISBN 9780307388445).
  • Knight, Peter (editor), Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia. (ISBN 978-1576078129).
  • West, Mick, Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect. A conclusive, well-researched, practical reference on why people fall down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole and how you can help them escape. (ISBN 9781510776388).

Economics[edit]

  • Ariely, Dan, Predictably Irrational. Application of research on cognitive biases in psychology to everyday economic decisions. (ISBN 9780061353246).
  • Keen, Steve, Debunking Economics. An overview and critique of the major schools of economics of the 20th century. (ISBN 978-1856499927).
  • Krugman, Paul, Peddling Prosperity. Differentiates what he calls "policy entrepreneurs" (read: economic snake oil peddlers) from academic economists and debunks claims from both liberal and conservative "entrepreneurs," though takes special aim at supply-siders. (ISBN 9780393312928).
  • Mandelbrot, Benoit and Richard L. Hudson. The (Mis)Behavior of Markets. The creator of fractal geometry applies it to critique modern finance theory. (ISBN 9781847651556).
  • Taleb, Nicholas Nassim:

Global warming and denialism[edit]

  • Bradley, Raymond S., Global Warming and Political Intimidation. A debunking of denialist talking points and documentation of the interplay between politics and science. (ISBN 9781558498693).
  • Cook, John, The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism. Short and free PDF of rebuttals based on the Skeptical Science website.
  • Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming. Focuses on global warming denial and compares it to earlier campaigns (which used many of the same experts for hire) to deny the link between cancer and smoking, the hole in the ozone layer, and acid rain. (ISBN 9781408828779).
  • Weart, Spencer. The Discovery of Global Warming: A History. Available for free from the American Institute of Physics. (ISBN 9780674268296).

Goats[edit]

History, pseudohistory, pseudoarchaeology, and politics[edit]

  • Fagan, Garrett (editor), Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public. What it says on the tin. Includes essays by multiple scholars. (ISBN 9780415305938).
  • Finkelstein, Israel and Neil A. Silberman, The Bible Unearthed. A look at Old Testament archaeology which debunks good chunks of the Bible and biblical pseudoarchaeology along the way. (ISBN 9780684869131).
  • Feder, Kenneth, Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology. This one is often used in actual archaeology courses. (ISBN 9780190096410).
  • Fisher, David Hackett, Historians' Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought. The first section of the book is basically an encyclopedia of logical fallacies using examples from historical and pseudohistorical works to illustrate each one. The rest of the book is more specific to the fields of history and historiography. (ISBN 978-0061315459).
  • Gallagher, Gary W. and Alan T. Nolan (eds.), The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History. Multiple historians come together to dismantle neo-Confederate nonsense. (ISBN 9780253222664).
  • Rodda, Chris, Liars for Jesus: The Religious Right's Alternate Version of American History. Debunks the most common myths surrounding the claim that the United States were conceived of as a "Christian Nation". Now available as a free download. (ISBN 9780253222664).
  • Stannard, David E., Shrinking History: On the Fraud and Failure of Psychohistory. A debunking of the fringe field of psychohistory, a fusion of history with Freudian psychoanalysis. (Not to be confused with the fictional version found in Isaac Asimov's literature.) (ISBN 9780195030440).
  • Story, Ronald (with Carl Sagan), The Space-Gods Revealed: A Close Look at the Theories of Erich von Däniken. Refutes the ancient astronaut theory peddled by von Däniken. (ISBN 9780060141417).
  • Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville. (ISBN 9780226805368).
    • Important reference to understanding the development of democracy in early Democratic USA, particularly post 1820. America was founded as a Republic, not as a Democracy, and Tocqueville explores reasons why Democracy worked in America and not in his native France. Written in two volumes, published in 1835 and 1840 respectively.
  • The Frontier in American History, by Frederick Jackson Turner. (Available for free at Project Gutenberg). (OCLC: 1081339431).
    • Famous essay written shortly after the official fall of the US Frontier (1890s). Aims to explain American exceptionalism and may aid non-Americans in understanding the nation. Has been criticized savagely from left and right since its production, still stands as an important piece of historiography and an essential read to fully grasp US history.
  • Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America, by Ellen Schrecker. (ISBN 9780691048703).
    • Shows just how deep and far-reaching the effects of McCarthyism were and gives a thorough history of Communism and anti-communism in America. Buy this to beat RobS in the head with.
  • Multitude (ISBN 9780143035596) and Empire (ISBN 9780674006713), both by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri. (ISBN 9780691048703).
    • Interesting look at globalization, power, and the state — Multitude uses a lot of Foucault's ideas about biopower.
  • Le gouvernement du monde, by Jean Francois Bayart. (European Article Number: 9782213616537). (ISBN 978-2213616537).
    • Another globalization treatise, also Foucauldian, but comes to very different conclusions about the state.
  • Ghost Wars, by Steven Coll. (ISBN 9780143034667).
    • Read this to understand exactly what people mean to say when they spout off about America "supporting and funding" Bin Laden. It's way more complicated and nuanced than that.
  • The Cartoon History of the Universe, by Larry Gonick. (ISBN 9780385265201).
    • History, from the Big Bang through (so far) the founding of Islam. The cartoonish style might be a bit off-putting, but the scholarship appears to be sound, and it's a good place to start reading.
  • Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, by Charles MacKay. (ISBN 978-1-57392-891-5).
    • First printed in 1850, this book's a compendium of historical examples of human folly, from Tulipmania, to the the witch hunt of Salem, to the Crusades. The old-fashioned writing style can be tough to adjust to, but the material is (sadly) timeless.
  • Why People Believe Weird Things, by Michael Shermer. (ISBN 978-0805070897).
    • Essays on various more modern cults and delusions, from creationism and UFO contactees to Objectivism.
  • The True Believer, by Eric Hoffer. (ISBN 0-06-050591-5)
  • The Ordeal of Change, by Eric Hoffer. (ISBN 0-89966-748-1)
    • Both classic books exploring what draws people to authoritarian mass movements, from fundamentalist Christianity to Communism. Other Hoffer books are also worth reading but start with these two.
  • The Republican War on Science, by Chris Mooney. (ISBN 9780465003860)
    • Explores the politicization of science in the United States, from evolution, to global warming, to abortion.
  • Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, by Robert Caro. (ISBN 9780394720951)
    • Much more than an autobiography of this complex character, this book provides an insightful look at how the Senate operates and can be moulded to suit a personal agenda.
  • A History of the Crusades, by Steven Runciman. (OCLC: 1284066).
    • Three volumes written in the '50s, standard reference books for the Crusades by one of the greatest historians of his day.

Math and statistics[edit]

  • Best, Joel. Damned Lies and Statistics. Detailing the abuse of statistics in the media. (ISBN 9780520274709).
  • Dorling, Danny. Statistics in Society: The Arithmetic of Politics (1998), Wiley-Blackwell. (ISBN 978-0340719947).
  • Paulos, John Allen:
    • Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences. A look at the pitfalls of being mathematically illiterate, or "innumerate." (ISBN 0-8090-7447-8).
    • A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper. A further look at innumeracy in popular media. (ISBN 038548254X).
  • Taleb, Nassim Nicholas:
    • Fooled by Randomness. Why the Gaussian statistical model is not always applicable. (ISBN 0-8129-7521-9).
  • Hofstadter, Douglas:
    • Gödel Escher Bach — a huge, but worthwhile introduction to formal systems, logic, recursion, theory of mind, strange loops, artificial intelligence, self-reference, symmetry... essential reading for anyone who dares to call their thought processes "logical". (ISBN 9780465026562).

Medicine, alternative medicine, and quackery[edit]

Philosophy[edit]

Psychology, the cognitive sciences, and pseudo-psychology[edit]

  • Altemeyer, Bob, The Authoritarians. Altemeyer's seminal book on what he calls "right-wing authoritarianism", which despite its name exists on both the left and the right. Avaliable for free as a PDF at the book's official website. (ISBN 978-0972329880 — CD version).
  • Brown, Derren, Tricks of the Mind. A mentalist reveals his tricks, including feats of memory, sleight-of-hand, influencing people and hypnotism. Also touches on religion and Derren's former evangelical Christian beliefs. (ISBN 9781905026357).
  • Burton, Robert A., On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not. Psychological research on cognitive biases, but with a concentration on the neuroscientific side of things. Also relates this research to beliefs in religion and creationism as well as making a case for a skeptical perspective. (ISBN 9780312541521).
  • Chabris, Christopher and Daniel Simons. The Invisible Gorilla. Explains the failings of intuition and sensory perception. (ISBN 9780307459664).
  • Eagleman, Dan, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain. Explains why we cannot always believe our senses and how most of our actions (even criminal) are not the product of free will. (ISBN 978-0307377333).
  • Fine, Cordelia, Delusions of Gender. Unravels the use of psychological and brain imaging studies used in service of the myths of Mars and Venus. (ISBN 0-393-06838-2).
  • Gardner, Richard A., Sex Abuse Hysteria: Salem Witch Trials Revisited. Gardner's investigation of the satanic ritual abuse moral panic, and compares it with other moral panics. (ISBN 9780933812222).
  • Gilovich, Thomas, How What We Know Isn't So. Looks at psychological research (along with some original research) on cognitive biases and applies it to pseudoscientific and crank ideas, especially ESP. Quick read as well. (ISBN 9780029117064).
  • Hood, Bruce. SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable. More neuroscience and psychology of superstition. (ISBN 9780061867934).
  • Lillenfeld, Scott O., Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio, and Barry Beyerstein, 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology. You mean all those psychology factoids I heard at cocktail parties are bunk? (ISBN 978-1-405-13112-4).
  • Loftus, Elizabeth (with Katherine Ketcham):
    • The Myth of Repressed Memory. Debunking of Freudian notions of repressed memory and quack recovered memory therapies. (ISBN 9780312141233).
    • Witness for the Defense. Explains processes of confabulation and debunks claims surrounding the Satanic Panic of the '80s as well as recounting Loftus' courtroom testimonies. (ISBN 9780312084554).
  • Rowland, Ian, The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading. Describes the most common techniques used by mediums and psychics; explains how to counter them. (ISBN 9780955847639).
  • Schacter, Daniel, The Seven Sins of Memory. Explains the ways in which memory can be unreliable and lead to false beliefs. (ISBN 9780358325680).
  • Sperber, Dan and Hugo Mercier, The Enigma of Reason. Discusses how forming and changing beliefs really happens (hint: not formal logic). (ISBN 9780674237827).
  • Stanovich, Keith E. What Intelligence Tests Miss. A critique of IQ testing using research on cognitive biases and rational thinking. (ISBN 9780300164626).
  • Vyse, Stuart. Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition. Similar to Gilovich's work, but concentrates more on psychosocial aspects of superstition. (ISBN 9780199996926).

Religion, and understanding the religious[edit]

  • The Religious Case Against Belief, by James P. Carse. (ISBN 978-0-1431-1544-1).
  • Sacred Causes: The Clash of Religion and Politics, from the Great War to the War on Terror, by Michael Burleigh. (ISBN 978-0060580964).
    • Exposes the influence and interference of religion in 20th century politics, history and dictatorship.
  • Pretty much anything by Karen Armstrong.
  • An Introduction to Islam, by David Waines. (ISBN 978-0521539067).
  • Christian Theology: An Introduction, by Alister E. McGrath. (ISBN 978-1-118-86957-4).
  • God's Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America by Hanna Rosin. (ISBN 978-0151012626).
    • In her book, investigative journalist Mrs. Rosin chronicles the life and times of the children of "Patrick Henry College", an institution that tries — and, ultimately, fails — to wed evangelical Christianity and modern intellectualism. Her warm approach to the children, and presentation of their astonishing lifestyle, is eye-opening and critical to understanding the modern evangelical movement. It'll also scare you shitless.
  • Introducing Christianity, by Sally Bruyneel and Alan G. Padgett. (ISBN 9781570753954).
  • Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, by Andrew Rippin. (ISBN 9781138219687).
  • The Cambridge Companion to Christian Doctrine, by Colin E. Gunton. (ISBN 9781139000000).
  • The Complete Idiot's Guide to Christianity, by Jeffrey B. Webb. (ISBN 9781440696152).
  • The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Judaism, by Rabbi Benjamin Blech. (ISBN 978-0028631912).
  • The AntiChrist, A Criticism of Christianity, by Friedrich Nietzsche. (ISBN 978-0-7607-7770-1).
    • Nietzsche's devastating, no-holds-barred critique of all the wrongs brought upon the world by people divorced from reality.
  • Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, by David Hume. (ISBN 978-0-7607-7771-8).
    • A wonderful little book from 1710 filled with debates over the existence of God and other matters of religion, told through conversations between characters from each side of argument. A great insight into different sides of the debate, and ways of debating the topics, that's still relevant today.
  • The Book of the SubGenius, by Ivan Stang & various. (ISBN 978-0671638108).
    • Yes, it's an insane bogus kook religion. It still does an excellent job of hiding some fairly illuminating observations on Faith, Humanity, and Money underneath a protective shell of morbid laughs.
  • The Principia Discordia, or How I Found Goddess And What I Did To Her When I Found Her. (ISBN 978-1559500401).
    • Yes, it's a joke, but that doesn't mean it's not true.

Sex and drugs[edit]

  • The X-Rated Bible: An Irreverent Survey of Sex in the Scriptures, by Ben Edward Akerley. (ISBN 0910309191).
    • Fun, snarky tour of the Bible highlighting all the dirty parts and bizarre sexual practices found therein.
  • Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in a Free Society, by Peter McWilliams. (ISBN 192976717X).
    • Sensible response to the War on Drugs, anti-sodomy laws, etc. (Also anti-smoking and anti-gun laws — McWilliams is pro-choice on everything). Contains especially extensive and good material debunking the Religious Right.
  • The Rape of the A.P.E., by Allan Sherman. (OCLC: 252868519).
    • The A.P.E. is the American Puritan Ethic, and this book is a very funny look at the sexual revolution and why it had to happen. Published 1973, this book captured a more freewheeling era before AIDS and moral panics put the damper on the whole thing. Yes, the same Allan Sherman who did "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah".
  • Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, by Brenda Love. (ISBN 1569800111).
    • Generally, this is considered the only comprehensive reference work on paraphilia. Not for those with a close-minded attitude to sex. One should be skeptical about occasional entries covering pseudoscientific or potentially-pseudoscientific sex practices.
    • Deviant Desires: Incredibly Strange Sex, by Katharine Gates. (ISBN 1890451037).
      • Makes for a useful complement to the Encyclopedia.
  • PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, by Alexander and Ann Shulgin. (ISBN 0963009605).
    • Self-explanatory if you know that PiHKAL is short for "Phenethylamines I Have Known and Loved". A very, erm, thorough, exploration of over 200 psychedelic compounds, their doses, uses, reviews and synthetic procedures. Highly controversial, obviously.

Social commentary, politics, and skepticism[edit]

  • Mencken, H.L.:
    • A Mencken Chrestomathy. A collection of essays, mostly social commentary, but also includes a number of criticisms of popular pseudosciences, quackery (especially chiropractic), myths, and academic fads of Mencken's time. (ISBN 9780394752099).
    • A Religious Orgy in Tennessee: A Reporter's Account of the Scopes Monkey Trial. A collection of Mencken's columns on the Scopes trial. (ISBN 9781933633176).
    • Treatise on the Gods. Mencken tears into religion. (ISBN 9780307830920).
  • Mooney, Chris. The Republican War on Science. (ISBN 9780465046751).
  • Pierce, Charles, Idiot America. Interesting since it rather successfully applies the same sort of skeptical razor to US politics rather than science. (ISBN 9780767926157).
  • Specter, Michael. Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives. (ISBN 9780143118312).

Psychics, spiritualism, and magic[edit]

See also[edit]


Retrieved from "https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=RationalWiki:Bookshelf&oldid=2671749"